Indications for a genetic basis for big bacteria and description of the giant cable bacterium Candidatus Electrothrix gigas sp. nov.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial cells can vary greatly in size, from a few hundred nanometers to hundreds of micrometers in diameter. Filamentous cable bacteria also display substantial size differences, with filament diameters ranging from 0.4 to 8 µm. We analyzed the genomes of cable bacterium filaments from 11 coastal environments of which the resulting 23 new genomes represent 10 novel species-level clades of Candidatus Electrothrix and two clades that putatively represent novel genus-level diversity. Fluorescence in situ hybridization with a species-level probe showed that large-sized cable bacteria belong to a novel species with the proposed name Ca. Electrothrix gigas. Comparative genome analysis suggests genes that play a role in the construction or functioning of large cable bacter

SUBMITTER: Geelhoed JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10580974 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature